
Book -EU^ 03- 



HA^A^AIIAN 
MEMORIES 



Blanche Howard Wenner 




Cochrane Publishing Company 

Tribune Building 

New York 

1910 






Copyright, 1910, by 
Cochrane Publishing Co. 



©CI.A2615i3 



INDEX 



5. 


Diamond Head. 


6. 


On the Old Moana Pier. 


8. 


To The PaH. 


11. 


The Dive. 


12. 


The Widow of Waikiki. 


15. 


The Trail to Tantalus. 


16. 


Hawaiian Garden. 


17. 


The Luaii. 


18. 


The Makers of the Lei. 


19. 


Ode to Hawaiian Night. 


21. 


From a Surf Board. 


22. 


Hawaiian Morning. 


23. 


Molokai. 


24. 


Flying Fish. 


2o. 


Reef Dreams. 


26. 


Hawaiian Singing. 


27. 


Amongst the Koa Trees. 


28. 


Kilauea. 


29. 


L'Envoi. 


30. 


Out of the Golden Gate. 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



DIAMOND HEAD 

Great sentinel of tropic loveliness, 

Titanic rock, clear cut in majesty, 

Across whose rigid back the winds flow free, — 

Art thou the monument of that duress 

Whence sprang the charm that lingering pilgrims 

bless 
The verdant islands guarded so by thee? 
Or priest art thou for all that burdened sea, 
Whose long blue waves at thy still feet confess? 
Unchanging giant, well may scan thy mien 
These people, ever luring pleasure sweet ; 
For thou, all gray amidst the gardens green, 
And golden quiver of the sunlight's beat. 
Standest, as did that ancient Ark of Right, 
Thro' storms unflinching in thy furrowed might. 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



ON THE OLD MOANA PIER 

To the heart of many a maiden 

Who has sojourned in Hawaii, 
There's a spot forever laden 

With a smile and with a sigh. 
So ho, for the times so far and dear, 

When they wandered in the morning 
On the old Moana Pier. 

Then the violet sea was tumbled 
O'er the reefs, and softly grumbled 

As the silver sands were crumbled 
In the sun-light hot and clear; 

Then the distant palms were gleaming, 
And the deeps with fish were teeming, 

W^hile her eyes in his were dreaming 
On the Old Moana Pier. 

And the afternoon would find them 
Pacing o'er the foot-worn walk. 

While the Trade Winds blew behind them 
Little jestings from their talk. 

So ho, for the days so far and dear, 
When they lingered in the sun-light 
On the Old Moana Pier. 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



Then the distant ships arriving, 

And the breeze blown-pahii trees striving 
And the naked natives diving 

From the brown raft floating near — 
Seemed but pictures strange and olden, 

Etched upon the sunshine golden, 
All by them to be beholden 

From the Old Moana Pier. 

Strange old pier, so long and silent, 

Stretching out to meet the sea, 
You have harbored scenes quite violent — 

(Tropic loves that quickly flee!) 
So ho, for those star-sweet nights so dear, 

When they walked another dance out on the 
Old Moana Pier. 

Then the lights were softly glowing, 

And the distant music flowing. 
Through the shadows, deeper growing. 

Brought a wonder and a fear 
Of "Aloha" softly ringing. 

And the far surf's ceaseless singing. 

While the Tropic night came swinging 
O'er the Old Moana Pier. 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



TO THE PALI 

(On Horseback) 

1 mount — we are off — my lady and I, 

And the hard road beneath us, in flashes doth 
fly. 
I flee from the town, and the soft dreaming heat ; 
Now strike for the hifls, with your swift flying 
feet! 

Here steady, now, steady! 
The dimb's yet to make. 
And I am not ready 
Your smooth neck to break ! 

On we swing, and tlie ring of her hoofs on the 

road. 
The one sound all around — how it beats off my 

load! 

Cool breath from the banyon ; 
We're nearing the canyon; 
Green rice fields below 
Like little squares show. Whoa ! 

Now wheel about, for one last look I'll turn. 

Behold the sea in silver sunlight burn; 
Far to the left, straight from the reaches free. 

Rolls in the shining surf of Waikiki ; 
And in the vale, with Royal Palms above, 

Lies Honolulu, city of my love. 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



Now on, my fine lady, your spirit ne'er slacks ! 
Feel the breeze in our faces, the sun on our 
backs. 
We have entered the canyon— ah, here.'s a good 
place — 
With that hard road ahead — are you game for 
a race? 

What a wild rush of air! 
How the rigid rocks flash. 
Oh, the wind in my hair ! 
Slow, my lady, you're rash. 

I would see, as we flee, how the little green trees 
Wave and bend to the trend of the Pali's mad 
breeze. 

What a keenness it brings ! 

See, yonder are springs ; 

There's a shelter I know 

From the wind's battle-blow. Whoa! 

How clear the water is, how pure and cold ! 

And high above the mountain, brown and 
bold. 
On whose far heights the speeding wind doth rip, 

Seizing all things within his greedy grip. 
And even the waterfalls he tears away. 

Throwing them upward in a wail of spray. 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



Come, forward, my lady, the Pali's ahead ! 

We must stand on the brink, e'er the sunlight 
is dead. 
There's a little cloud speeding adown the wind's 
train, 
And if I mis'take not, 'twill drench us with 
rain. 

But away ! we are glad 

Through the cloud's misty curtain 

To leap — 'tisn't bad ! 

But it's wet — that is certain. 

Oh, I thrill to the will of the surf-scented 
shower — 
Ah, at last it is past; now the sunlit cliffs 
tower ! 

There's the gap and the ocean — 
Quick, charge this mad motion ! 
'Tis the Pali's own blow. 
Here's the brink and below — AMioa I 

How green and sweet the sugar cane's wide 
fields ! 
How fresh the pineapples yon meadow yields ! 
While far away the brilliant, bounding sea. 
O'er wdiose blue surface sweep the Trade 
Winds free. 
And this steep cliff, across whose edge they tell 
A conquered people struggled, fought and 
fell! 



10 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



THE DIVE 

He stands erect, slender and shining brown, 

The native boy; 
Hands high, but eyes upon the sea bent down, 

Gleaming with joy. 
He springs — a second's bronzy flash is seen — 
Then swift he shoots into the sea's clear green. 



n 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



THE WIDOW OF WAIKIKI 

{A ballad) 

She was the widow of Waikiki, Uttle, blase and 

pert; 
And her deepest plan was to snare a man 

For a moon-lit evening's flirt. 
But wasn't it sad for a gay Marine 

To awake with an aching head — 
To have lost a girl, with teeth Hke pearl 

Thro' the lure of a parasol red? 

'Tis a pleasant thing of an afternoon 

To sit on a long lanai, 
And watch the surf boards skim the deep, 

And the pretty girls go by. 
Now he was a handsome officer, 

And a little bit swift at that, 
And she was the widow of Waikiki, 

With cherries upon her hat. 
She loitered by, with a melting eye — 

(Oh, the Tropic day was warm!) 
And a little talk, and a little walk 

Should never end in harm. 
But out on the pier is a joysome place, 

In the sunset's tender light; 
And an autoniobile, and the Country Club, 

Are nice on a Tropic night. 
So he sent for a brother officer, 



12 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



Who for fun was always game; 
And they got a girl from the Orpheum 

To keep it from being tame. 
So off they went, when the day was spent, 

And as over the road they sped, 
The thought of the girl, with teeth like pearl 

Had not yet entered his head. 
Yet he was engaged to the preacher's daughter, 

Pretty, petite, and good. 
Who walked in the straight and narrow path. 

As a preacher's daughter should. 
And even that night, she was waiting for him, 

To sit on the small lanai, 
Or to wander in father's garden, 

Under a starry sky. 
But the Country Club (oh, there's the rub) 

Is so charming a place, I ween. 
That you never know where the minutes go — 

Alas ! for the gay Marine ! 
For when he thought, in the midst of the feast, 

Of the maiden there alone, 
In panic he rushed, with shaky legs. 

To call her up by 'phone. 
And so mixed he was, that his addled brain 

Thus wrenched the heart of the beauty; 
'T am hopelessly detained, dear love, 

At the Country Club, on duty! 



13 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



Now who would think that the glasses' cHnk 
The telephone wires won't cover? 

And the words she said will buzz in his head — 
Until he finds another. 

Oh, the Country Club, on its wonderful Hnks 

Is a dangerous place to be; 
And woman and wine and song, 'tis said, 

Are an officer's devils three; 
But what is lost is lost, you know, 

And there's no use recalling; 
And a host must do his best, you know, 

When the Tropic moon-light's falling. 
So a gay Marine, and a swift machine, 

And the ocean by them whizzes ! 
And the widow is ''on" for a Marathon, 

In the wake of a few gin fizzes. 

She was the widow of Waikiki, little, blase, and 
pert. 

And her deepest plan was to snare a man 
For a moon-lit evening's flirt. 

But wasn't it sad for a gay Marine 
To awake with an aching head — 

To have lost a girl, with teeth like pearl, 
Thro' the lure of a parasol red ? 



14 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



THE TRAIL TO TANTALUS 

Come, comrade, we will strike the winding trail, 
Where spicy odors on the sunlight sail; 
The trail that leads 'neath Eucalyptus trees. 
Whose silver shadow woo the briliant breeze. 
And there, with gray-gold lights to mantle us, 
We'll sing our psean to old Tantalus. 
So come, my friend. 

'Tis quite a grade that we will have to make. 
Ere that cold stream our clim-dried lips will 

slake. 
But, oh, the zest in working towards the heights ! 
And, looking down upon the valley's lights 
We'll see the rain-bow o'er IManoa place!. 
And slender mists of rain by sunlight chased. 
Then, comrade, come. 

Nay, linger not ; you know old Tantalus 
Doth ever smile his welcome down on us, 
Since first together we achieved his crest, 
And sat upon his bare, cool heights to rest- 
Commanding from his summit all of life. 
Volcanic valleys, and the sea's far strife. 
Dear comrade, come. 



15 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



HAWAIIAN GARDEN 

Breath of a full-blown blossom as it dies ; 
Scarlet Hibiscus and white butterflies; 
The ragged whisper of banana trees; 
And far away the hiving hum of bees. 
Cocoanuts falling where the sunlight gleams; 
Soft folding of blue water flowers in dreams, 
O'er Waikiki a gull upon the wing; 
Silence — and in the garden Love is King. 



16 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



THE LUAU 

{From a tonrisfs point of viczv.) 

Those natives in the garden — how they dig! 
What ! They are taking up the roasted pig ? 
{Or dog!) All swathed in shining leaves of Ti ! 
Well, this looks like the very thing to me ! 

I say, dark maid, I haven't any fork 

With which to test this charming piece of pork. 

You don't use any ! Really, pretty lass ? 

Well, then, that calabash of fruit please pass. 

How charmingly "the Princess" doth preside. 

(I wouldn't eat like this to save my hide!) 

Some way upon the taste things seem to cloy. 

What! Dip my fingers in this bowl of poi ! 

My appetite is gone — I wonder why ! 

H this lasts long, upon my word I'll die. 

And now "the Princess" shares her perfume 



rare 



My handkerchief is ruined — Help, Lord — Air 



17 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



THE jNIAKERS of THE LEI 

Through sun-bright hours in the narrow street, 
Phicking the red carnations sweet, 
Hard by the cool, gray curb they sit, 
And thread the flower leaves, bit by bit — 
The makers of the Lei. 

Dark old men, who dream of the past, 
Glib, fat women, whose tongues run fast; 
Working, gossiping, waving their flowers 
At the passers-by through the fragrant hours — 
The makers of the Lei. 

Leis of yellow and red and blue. 
Their dusky fingers are flitting through ; 
Green-leaved leis that shine in the light. 
And they smile o'er the ginger's scented white. 
The makers of the Lei. 

Scarlet leis they hang on their arms 
For the Hula dancers' dusky charms 
Pink for the gay young lover's hat, 
And they give an extra twist to that — 
The makers of the Lei. 

Leis to welcome the stranger guest. 
And to bid god-speed the friends loved best ; 
Till it seems they cause in those leis to lie. 
The charmed sweetness of old Hawaii — 
The makers of the Lei. 



18 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



ODE TO HAWAIIAN NIGHT 

O, tranced Night ! Silver Hawaiian Night, 

Filled with the mysteries of all things sweet — 
Here with the darkness touched, there with the 
white, 
Still veil of moon-beams wrapped about thy 
feet. 
O, voice of Passion answering the soul, 

And velvet hands that touch the spirit's 
wings, 
And hold on high the purple starry scroll 
Whereon God's harmony forever sings ! 
Night, to the mystic throbbing of thy breast 
Gather my senses, calling out for rest. 

Thou comest now, even as thou didst of yore, 

When the dark natives lived upon the isles. 
Built their strange huts, and danced upon the 
shore, 

Tuning their music to thy saddest smiles. 
And now, as then, thou sweep'st upon the light. 

Chasing it far across the round, dim sea, 
And with the yearning sweetness of the night, 

Gather'st the verdant islands close to thee. 
So, for long hours they lie in thy embrace. 

While high above the stars slip on through 
space. 



19 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



Of thee all wondrous, sweetest things are 
born, — 
The night song of the surf upon the reef, 
And Love first whisper — stranger to the morn — 
And Sleep that seals the heavy eyes of Grief. 
And that pure flower, the Cereus, doth seem, 

Like to a baby's soul, new-born, to lie 
Within thy dusk, and like a maiden's dream. 

With the first distant breath of light to die. 
Yea, they are highly sweet, these things of 
thine. 
Oh, though the spirit's kinship make them 
mine! 

Oh, Mother Night, moon-sweet Hawaiian 
Night, 
Beneath thy breath the Tropic loves unfold, 
Even as the Cereus in its silver white 

And fairy fragrance ; and before the old 
Worn light of days can mar it where it lies, 

So golden-hearted on the wall, it pales 
And slips to death, — so quickly thy love dies, 

And all its strength in one deep night exhales ! 
And yet more rare and precious seem those 
things, 
Whose birth and death are compassed by thy 
wings. 



20 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



FROAI A SURF BOARD 

Closely I cling 

To the wet, brown thing — 

And wait. 
There's a green wave swinging 
To soft foam singing — 

Now straight ! 

Point for the shore— HOLD TIGHT ! 

I travel fast on its emerald height, 

And rise to my feet in the thing's wild flight. 

Hands out — head back — clear the way ! 

I am drunk with the speed of the salt-tanged 

spray ! 
I am borne like a god on the water's roar ! 
Slip, — Plunge ! Onf, I must swim to shore. 



21 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



HAWAIIAN MORNING 

Out of the silent wells of night 
Springs a little child of light. 

Over the darkened arch of sea, 
Shod with sun-light wanders she. 

And the Gardens of Hawaii 
Lure her, as she passes by. 

There her freshest smile she brings ; 

There her rarest song she sings ; 
Pouring there her sweetest balms 

To filter through the long-leaved palms. 
Passes sadly on her way — 

Looking backwards all the day. 



22 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



MOLOKAI 

("The Leper Island'') 
Far distant o'er the ocean's shining miles, 

In that sweet zone where all the shafts of sun 
Leap fresh from the Equator one hy one, 

She lies alone— amongst her sister isles, 
And every hour marks Death upon her dials. 

While over them the moon-gay pleasures run 
Her weh is of the darkest meshes spun, 

And on her hills a spirit army files. 
O, Molokai, upon whose verdant breast 

The still, white ghost of Leprosy is nursed 
What sorrow hangs above thy sunlit crest 

What voice of pain by thy sad surf rehearsed 
And yet, sweet stranger in the Tropic Sea, 

A tender, Mother-work is done by thee. 



I 

I 



23 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



FLYING FISH 

Like instant, winged thoughts they leap, 
To swift and iridescent flight — 

A second's gleaming way they keep — 
Then plunge into the sea's blue night 



24 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



REEF DREAMS 

I dreamed that all the still, sad tears, 
My soul had wept away from thee, 

Had turned to silver phosphorus 
And floated on a Tropic Sea. 

I dreamed that all the words we spoke, 
Through charmed nights so long ago, 
Had found their voices in the sea, 

And murmured on the coral reefs low. 

I dreamed my soul was but a bloom 

Of Cereus, so silver white, 
And thine the strangely vibrant moon 

That found its golden heart one night. 



25 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



HAWAIIAN SINGING 

O, Life, that beats in every tone ! 
No other cadences hke those 
Ever in my soul's palace rose — 
So gayly sweet and sadly lone. 

One with the sun-green isles it seems 
Beneath — the struggling, surging fires ; 

Above — the palm trees' windy lyres, 

Whose sweetness follows in our dreams. 



26 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



AMONGST THE KOA TREES 

How sweet to dream amongst the Koa trees ! 

There on the mountain's shoulder with the 
haze 
Of Kilauea on the slow, blue breeze, 

Raising itself to meet the sun's keen rays. 

Yes, there to lie at length. 
Tingling with life and strength, 

Stretched in the crooked lines of shade and 
light, 

And ponder on the Koa forest bright. 

How still it is ! The sky of cobalt blue, 

The cool and golden sparkle of the air — 
Is it through days like this the gnarled trees 
grew, 

And yet could find themselves no shape more 
fair? 
Or do those crooked limbs await 

Old Kilauea's hiss of fate? 
Enwrapping them, even as those trees of old, 

Whose death we read in sunken lava mould. 

And yet a thousand years may come and go, 

Ere that wild creature issues forth again; 
And here upon this old tree fallen low, 

I lie and ponder things beyond Man's ken. 
But oh, 'tis sweet to dream at ease, 

Alone amongst the Koa trees ! 
While far around the blue-gold charm doth lie, 

And clasps within its magic all Hawaii. 



27 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



KILAUEA 

A Silence desolate lies over all 

Those mist-hung leagues of hardened lava 
waves ; 
Whence a red beacon lures to those mad caves 

Where liquid light lashes its prison wall. 
Held in the grip of Nature's rocky thrall, 

Struggling for the far Freedom that it craves 
Ever the mumbling mountain's side it braves, 
While winds blow back the smoke's titanic 
pall. 
Oh, mighty force of God! Oh, spawn of Life! 
Which deep within the Earth's hot heart doth 
breed, 
Searing our brains with thy convulsive strife, 
Here on these sea-far isles we pause and 
read ! 
While the pale pilot stars in their dim height, 
Cours quietly on o'er the red eye of Night. 



28 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 



L'ENVOI 

I will not say good-bye to thee, 

For he who once has been thy guest, 

Though wandering far beyond the sea, 
Will seek again thy star-lit rest. 
Aloha ! 

I shall not even say good-night; 

Thou knowest sometimes nights are long. 
Full measure I received of light ; 

I give — these memories of song. 
Aloha ! 



29 



HAWAIIAN MEMORIES 

OUT OF THE GOLDEN GATE 

Out of the Golden Gate, ahoy! Out of the 
Golden Gate! 

Where the wild wind swings, 

And the spendthrift sings, 
And the strange, far countries wait. 

I'll breathe no sigh for the Past, ahoy ! 

I'll breathe no sigh for the Past. 

For the furrow deep 

Shall charm my sleep, 
And I am free at last. 

Now let the pilot go, ahoy ! Now let the pilot go. 

For we must head 

To the sunset red. 
Where the sea-tanged tempests blow. 

So pull her to the West, ahoy ! Oh, pull her to 
the West! 

'Till the cliff-house fails, 

And the coast-wise sails 
Are hid by the sea's white crest. 

Then buck the bounding waves, ahoy ! Oh, buck 
the bounding waves ! 

Let the phosphorus ball 

Through the black sea crawl, 
Over the sailors' graves. 

Let the old wind tear and rip, ahoy ! Let the old 
wind tear and rip ! 

Till the bending spars. 

And the mist-blind stars 
Into the ocean dip. 

30 



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